Fight or Flight
by Under A Cloud
Summary: Between fight and flight, she has always chosen flight. (KiriharaOC friendship three-shot)
1. The Meeting

Hello, thank you for giving 'Fight or Flight' a try :) FoF will be a **three-shot**, no more, no less. This story is strictly **platonic**.

Summary: Between fight and flight, she has always chosen flight. (KiriharaOC friendship three-shot)

Disclaimer: I don't own PoT.

**Fight or Flight**

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**Chapter 1: The Meeting**

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When Kurumi walked into Rikkai Dai, she couldn't help feeling overwhelmed by the grandiose buildings.

The gigantic main school building with its whitewashed walls made the petite girl whose eyes were the same color as her ocean-blue hair feel pathetically small. She subconsciously tugged at the front of her olive-green blazer, only to realize that she removed her safety amulet that morning because of the 'no accessory' school rule dictated in the student handbook.

'_Oh no, what am I to do? Tou-san and kaa-san will be so disappointed at me,_' thought Kurumi, already becoming edgy before she even stepped into her classroom, '_I, I shouldn't impose on others, I'll get through with this._' Kurumi decided even though she desperately needed someone to walk with her and supply her with strength. She knew she wasn't cut out for King Rikkai Dai, she wasn't anything like her brother who was born for this prestigious school of the Emperors.

Still… she didn't want to see her father sighing over her again, even though she had always been the lesser child between her and her brother. Kurumi wished that her relatives would stop putting her in juxtaposition with her brother and constantly take delight in pointing out the difference in their aptitudes; unfortunately, year after year her wish was never granted. Whenever they were at a family gathering, people would without fail remember to bring up her family in the conversation. Her brother, the prized son, her, the younger sibling who was completely eclipsed by the omnipotent 'Child of God'.

It wasn't as if Kurumi hated her brother; she loved him dearly, as do he in return. It was nobody's fault that he was a prodigy in all areas when she was just _normal_, too normal to be the younger sister of Yukimura Seiichi, too normal to be deserving of the title 'Daughter of God' which spilled over to her because of her brother's glories.

Actually, Kurumi didn't even play tennis at all, all the more making her and her nickname 'Daughter of God' an irony which people often poked fun at.

Tightly clutching her book bag, the pale-skinned girl slowly made her way into the main school building, head lowered in fear that people would recognize her by her facial features. Her looks were the only thing she shared with her brother; they both possessed supreme beauty.

Despite having the student handbook which contained the school map in her possession, Kurumi only found the way to the main school hall after bumping into a friendly second year senior who recognized her as a first year and led her to the main school hall. Maps were pretty much redundant for her who could never figure out which direction was south or north even with the aid of a compass. Sometimes, Kurumi was truly grateful that she was born in Japan which has one of the world's most well-developed public transport system.

While seated with her class, Kurumi began her nervous fits again. Her introverted nature made it difficult for her to take the initiative when it came to socializing. The girl to her left had already began making small conversations with their classmate who sat on the other side; Kurumi was left feeling forlorn yet no matter how much she tried, she couldn't bring herself to open her mouth and approach another. She wanted to make friends, she _really_ wanted to make at least one friend instead of isolating herself like she used to.

Well, God heard her prayer there.

"Hey there," the dark-haired girl seated to Kurumi's right suddenly tapped her arm and whispered.

"A-ah? Is there anything you need?" Kurumi stuttered, slightly taken aback.

The girl giggled, "Like I thought, you're an adorable one. My name is Chiyozumi Asaki, let's be friends."

"Eh?" Kurumi blinked, thoroughly perturbed.

"What's your name?" Asaki carelessly brushed aside the confusion she caused and proceeded to ask.

"Yukimura Kurumi," Kurumi answered spontaneously.

"Yukimura? Do you happen to be related to the legendary senpai who just graduated recently?" asked Asaki as she scratched her chin. Shrugging it off, she continued, "Well… it doesn't matter either way. I will call you Kurumi-chan from now on. Nice to meet you, Kurumi-chan. You can call me Asaki."

Asaki's question about her surname made Kurumi flinch – being associated with her brother always made her terribly self-conscious; when she heard Asaki's next sentence though, all that remained was surprise.

Kurumi looked at Asaki who was beaming at her, there was a mischievous glint in Asaki's deep brown eyes which Kurumi always saw in those spirited girls who she didn't mix well with. She opened her mouth, but produced no words.

Was she serious about befriending her?

"Oi~ I didn't sprout flowers on my face, did I?" asked Asaki jokingly when she didn't hear a reply from Kurumi.

"Eh?" Kurumi blinked, still semi spaced out. Her response procured another series of giggles from Asaki.

"You're adorable, Kurumi-chan," remarked Asaki – and Kurumi was reminded of another person who was an ex-student of Rikkai Dai too. Kurumi didn't understand why Asaki would remind her of her brother's girlfriend. They weren't similar personality-wise… Asaki seemed much more outgoing, at least. At the moment though, this seemingly irrational sense of familiarity warmed Kurumi up to Asaki.

"It's nice meeting you too, Asaki-chan," said Kurumi softly, a small smile blossoming on her beautiful face. Only the young Yukimura knew how much courage it took for her to churn out a mere greeting like that.

"I take back what I said, Kurumi-chan," Asaki shook her head, and Kurumi's heart sank – already? Did she regret approaching her? Seeing the crestfallen expression on Kurumi's face, Asaki grinned and said, "You aren't cute, Kurumi-chan. You're _absolutely_ drop dead gorgeous."

Kurumi's face flushed red at the compliment. More than that… she was relieved. Relieved that Asaki still wanted to make friends with her, relieved that her first friend in middle school wasn't going to walk out on her within minutes after they freshly got acquainted.

"T-thank you, Asaki-chan."

**~x~**

"Which club are you going to apply for, Kurumi-chan?" asked Asaki as she spun the pencil she held in her right hand, "If you don't have any clubs in mind, let's apply for the taekwondo club together."

"Sorry, Asaki-chan. I can't," Kurumi shook her head, "M-my brother had already made arrangement for me to fill the position of the manager of the boys tennis club."

"Ah-ha! So you_ are_ related to Yukimura Seiichi after all," Asaki grinned. Nobody else heard her because she lowered her volume for which Kurumi was thankful. She didn't want to stir up a commotion in class. Yukimura Seiichi may have graduated, but he left behind an irrevocable legacy. His name was spread from generation to generation – and Kurumi knew that his name will linger in Rikkai Dai for many years to come. The name Yukimura Seiichi in itself was a synonym for miracle.

"… He's my brother," Kurumi admitted, chewing on her lips. '_Is Asaki-chan going to compare me to nii-chan like everyone else?_' Kurumi wondered. People always do, when they find out that she was related to_ the_ Yukimura Seiichi. To her surprise, Asaki seemed rather disinterested in the whole sibling thing.

"I won't force you to sign up for the taekwondo club with me then, guess we'd have to go separate ways after school for our club activities," said Asaki who began filling out her club registration form, "You should fill up your form too."

Kurumi looked at Asaki, trying to pick up on any hint of judgment on her face. Finding none, Kurumi's heart settled down a little. The blue-haired girl smiled shyly and mumbled, "I will, Asaki-chan."

**~x~**

The Rikkai Dai boys tennis club was said to be famous nation-wide _and_ within one of the nation's most eminent schools. Initially, Kurumi didn't understand what this fame entailed. That was until she arrived at the tennis courts and was greeted by the sight of boys and girls surrounding the boys' court and acting as human barricades on top of the fence. Horrified and helpless, Kurumi didn't know how she could walk past the walls of iron defense. She wished that she was Moses who parted the Red Sea with his staff; that'd be a really helpful skill in the current circumstance.

With each passing moment she spent pacing up and down without decreasing the displacement between her and the boys' courts, Kurumi was starting to become nervous. She was going to be late for the boys tennis club's first practice; _what a first impression_, she thought. If she didn't want to be tardy or worse; play truancy during the first session of her club activity, she'd have to think up something and quick.

_The problem was_, Kurumi looked over the crowd in desperation, what could _she _do given the current circumstances?

**~x~**

"Oi, Kirihara, isn't the new manager here yet?" Shiota called out to his captain as he rummaged through his tennis bag for his wristband.

"Nope, did your message get through to her? I told you to make sure that she got the message," replied Kirihara gruffly. Impatiently, the dark-haired captain was tapping his foot against the ground.

"Duh! She even replied to me," Shiota rolled his eyes, "Unless she wrote down the wrong number on her application form_ and_ whoever on the other end of the line decided to pull a prank on me, I'm pretty certain I messaged Yukimura Kurumi."

"Then why isn't she here yet? There's only 5 minutes till practice begin!" Kirihara ran a hand through his hair and muttered angrily, "Yukimura-buchou specially entrusted her to us too!"

"Haven't you considered the possibility that she's blocked out of the court by the crowd?" Shiota sighed, "Ah, my wristband. Finally." Spying the circle of green at the depth of his bag, Shiota grabbed it and slipped it around his wrist.

"… Oi, Shiota, can you message her again to confirm that she's out there?" said Kirihara, finally deciding that waiting around wasn't going to do any good, "I'll go pick her up if she's there."

"Hmm… okay," Shiota zipped open a compartment of his tennis bag and pulled out his mobile phone. A few minutes later, Shiota looked up and nodded to Kirihara, "Well, Kirihara-_buchou_, go rescue our little manager. Hey, Chiba-kun and Ryuu-kun, go along with our buchou and keep him in line, okay?"

"Yes, fukubuchou," came the replies from the two boys who were named.

"What do you mean by that, Shiota!" Kirihara jumped up when he heard Shiota's instructions. Seeing his teammates' teasing looks, he gritted his teeth and spat out unwillingly, "… Fine. I got it," Kirihara grunted, resigning to his fate.

**~x~**

Outside of the courts, Kurumi was panicking upon receiving a message from the vice-captain of the boys tennis club which said that the captain was coming out to escort her in. '_Oh no_,' thought Kurumi, she was causing troubles for people again…

"Eh? Is Kirihara-kun coming out?"

"Oh my gosh – he is! He's heading this way too!"

"Do you think he noticed me?"

"Don't be silly; don't you see Subaki-senpai at the back? He must be coming for her!"

"Heitenshirou-senpai looks much better with Kirihara-senpai!"

As chatters escalated into screeches, the black-haired newly promoted captain had already walked through the gates to the court.

Kurumi couldn't see what was happening at the front, but the next scene reminded her of a passage from the bible –

_Moses held out his staff, and the Red Sea was separated into two halves by God. The Israelites walked on dry ground and crossed the sea, followed by the Egyptian army. Moses again moved his staff once the Israelites had crossed and the sea closed again, drowning the whole of the Egyptian army._

– Though, the current situation was a little different. Kirihara didn't exactly do anything. He merely stopped in front of two girls and the crowd parted before her eyes, making a walkway for him and the two regulars who stood guard beside him. As he walked down the newly opened path, Kurumi really thought that she saw a God walking towards her – a God, an unearthly being like her brother; that only lasted until he opened his mouth.

"Oi, you're Yukimura Kurumi, right?" said the dark-haired boy, beautiful green eyes gazing into her ocean-blue orbs, "If you're done standing there, come into the courts now. We're late for practice already."

Chiba and Ryuu sniggered, while Kurumi blinked, breaking out of her reverie. She looked at the impatient third year senior standing before her, thinking to herself: were Gods so… humane?

Kirihara gave her no chance to indulge in her own thoughts and surprise. He felt a strong urge to just grab her by the arm and pull her into the courts – they were late for practice, and Kirihara didn't like wasting his precious tennis time, but this was Yukimura Kurumi, his ex-captain's little sister. Forcing his restlessness to simmer down a little, Kirihara said, "Come on, Yuki– no, Kurumi-chan." Kirihara flinched at the notion of addressing the girl as 'Yukimura', it made him feel as though he was disrespecting his captain.

"A-ah? Okay," Kurumi scurried to Kirihara's side when she realized that he was probably the boy her brother had been telling her about; Kirihara Akaya, her brother's junior and current captain of the boys tennis club. Seeing that Kurumi had come forward by herself, Kirihara nodded and made his way back into the courts, Chiba and Ryuu stood next to Kurumi, acting as human shields for the petite young girl.

Perplexed, Kurumi was walking into the courts, tiny hands nervously clutching her olive-green school skirt when she came under the scrutiny of all the people she passed. When the group of four finally disappeared back into the courts, the crowd burst into uproar.

"Did you see that? Kirihara-senpai called that girl 'Kurumi-_chan_'!"

"That's beside the point, she shares the same last name as Yukimura-senpai! Do you think–?"

"Ah, I did hear that Yukimura-senpai has a little sister. Perhaps she's the one?"

"I don't care, nobody can fill the spot next to Kirihara-senpai except Subaki-senpai or Heitenshirou-senpai!"

Unbeknownst to Kurumi, she had once again become a subject of heated debate amongst her peers. Just like it had been in grade school, just like it had been everywhere else.

Yukimura Kurumi was Yukimura Seiichi's little baby sister; the 'Daughter of God' who couldn't serve or do a return to save her life in tennis; the normal girl who could've been thought to be unrelated to Yukimura Seiichi if it weren't for their similar looks.

Everyone knew her as Yukimura Seiichi's little baby sister, but nobody knew her as Yukimura Kurumi.

And nobody could hear her silent pleas for help, nor understand the desperation that was slowly consuming her.

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Update for this is likely to be slow because it's the first time I'm trying something like this… Do you like Kurumi and Kirihara? :) Do drop me a review to let me know what you think of them and thanks for reading to the end here!


	2. Getting Acquainted

Thanks to** YunaBrown**, **CarolineGreen** and **midnightstealth** for reviewing :) there seems to be some unstoppable amorous atmosphere in this story even though I intended it to be platonic. ... WHY. But this will remain a friendship story.

**Fight or Flight**

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**Chapter 2: Getting Acquainted**

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Once they were safely within their courts, Kirihara briefly introduced Kurumi to the whole club before he pulled Shiota and Kurumi into the club room for an extended meeting.

Timidly, Kurumi peered at the two very handsome males in front of her. Aside from their superior tennis skills, Rikkai Dai's boys tennis regulars were traditionally known for being extremely good looking.

Kurumi could testify for the rumours now. They were so very true.

"I'd call you Yukimura-san except it reminds me of your brother, do you mind if I do away with formality and call you Kurumi-chan instead? It's fine if you feel uncomfortable," unlike Kirihara who brashly called Kurumi by her first name, Shiota first smiled kindly at the petite girl who bore a strong resemblance to their ex-captain and asked in a polite manner which utterly shamed Kirihara in comparison, "by the way, I'm Shiota Yuu. I was the one who texted you yesterday. If you'd like, you can call me Yuu too."

Kirihara cocked his head and raised a brow in a manner which seemed to be asking, _"are you trying to hit on her? As in, hit on Yukimura-buchou's little sister?"_

He'd _strangle _Shiota if he dared to admit to that. Yukimura-buchou didn't entrust his little sister to them for them to flirt with her!

"That won't do, Shiota-senpai," Kurumi immediately shook her head, "please feel free to call me by my first name."

Ignoring Kirihara's questioning look, Shiota nodded, "alright then." Shiota was completely aware of what was going through Kirihara's mind, and he inwardly grinned. Like the rest of their team, Shiota found delight in pricking Kirihara. In the whole of Rikkai Dai's history, Kirihara was probably the only sad case of a captain who was oppressed by his team.

"I'm Kirihara Akaya," Kirihara's dark green eyes gazed right into Kurumi's innocuous blues. Usually, Kurumi would avoid direct eye contact of such intensity, but Kirihara's eyes resembled those of her brother's girlfriend. Even though his eyes weren't soft and comforting like hers, they weren't aggressive like what his outward demeanour suggested about him either.

The semblance of Kirihara to Tsugi eased Kurumi up to him, and she managed to crack a smile at him, softly saying, "hello, Kirihara-senpai."

**~x~**

"Has school been going well for you, Kurumi?" asked Yukimura Nadeshiko over dinner. The master of the household; Yukimura Hayato; was absent on the table due to work. The beginning of a new financial year meant lots of work for her husband who was one of the key personnel in his company.

"Yes, kaa-san," Kurumi nodded and a bashful smile blossomed on her beautiful face, "Rikkai Dai… is wonderful, I've made some friends, too."

"I'm glad to hear that," Yukimura Nadeshiko nodded and turned to her son, "How about you, Seiichi? Did anything interesting happen in school?"

Yukimura Nadeshiko didn't see Kurumi's smile fall a little when she smiled fondly at her son. It was a smile which indicated that he was her pride, and it was illustrative of her affection for him. Kurumi never had the pleasure of sharing that smile which solely belonged to her brother. Her father was a traditional man and his son was his top priority. Her mother, even though she tries her best to maintain a balance between her two children, had difficulty remaining completely impartial. That wasn't to say that her parents didn't love her; she knew they did, only they loved her brother more.

At times, Kurumi felt like an accidental child. With a superior son like her brother, why'd her parents want another child?

"It went smoothly, thank you for asking, kaa-san," replied Yukimura. As he spoke, he smiled warmly at Kurumi. Comforted by her brother's dazzling smile, Kurumi smiled too.

Her brother was the one keeping her from falling into the deep, endless pit.

"Keep it up, Seiichi," said Yukimura Nadeshiko with an encouraging smile.

After dinner, Kurumi returned to her room and was about to start on her homework (she now sees a glimpse of why Rikkai Dai was top in the nation both academic-wise and club-wise; the school curriculum was really vigorous) when someone knocked on the door.

"Kurumi, are you busy?"

It was her brother.

"No, not at all," replied Kurumi, pushing her assignments aside, "nii-chan, the door isn't locked."

"I'll be coming in then," said Yukimura and he opened the door with a soft 'click'. Seeing Kurumi in front of her desk, he walked over and ruffled her hair with an endearing smile. He sat down on the chair next to Kurumi and asked, "Did club activity go smoothly?"

Kurumi nodded, "Yes, nii-chan. Shiota-senpai's really kind and friendly; he told me everything about my job scope, and gave me pointers on what I need to keep a lookout for. Kirihara-senpai seemed a little… intimidating at first, but nii-chan, he's a very nice and observant person too."

_Kirihara-senpai_… Yukimura sampled the taste of the two words on his tongue, was it just him or did the combination of the two words form an irony in itself? Strange that he didn't feel that way with Shiota. Smile unfaltering, Yukimura continued asking, "Really? What did Akaya-kun do?"

"I had a paper cut yesterday, nii-chan, when Kirihara-senpai noticed it, he immediately barred me from touching the equipment. Instead… he made the non-regulars set up the machines and clean up the tennis balls afterwards," Kurumi lowered her head, slightly embarrassed that she was so prone to accidents, "Shiota-senpai only realized it after Kirihara-senpai laid the orders."

"I see," Yukimura appeared thoughtful, Kirihara was faithfully abiding by his orders.

"Nii-chan, is there anything of the issue?" asked Kurumi, perhaps the seniors thought that she was too incompetent?

Seeing the anxiety breaking out on her face, Yukimura pat her head reassuringly, "no, I was asking because I'm concerned about how you're doing. If you're fine, everything's well. Don't hesitate to tell me if there's anything wrong, alright?"

"I understand, nii-chan. Thank you for signing me up for the boys tennis club," and everything else that you've done for me too.

Kurumi knew that Yukimura always spoilt her.

Yukimura laughed. With a serious look in his eyes, he said in a joking manner, "Kurumi, remember that I'm always there for you. If there are things that you don't feel comfortable sharing with me, you can talk to Tsugi instead. She'd be glad to listen to you."

"I know, nii-chan," Kurumi hugged Yukimura, "thank you."

But there were things that she wouldn't share, not even with his girlfriend, because she was ashamed of those thoughts.

Unable to see the forlorn expression on his little sister's face, Yukimura pat Kurumi's back. When she pulled back, her woes had vanished and she gave her brother a bright smile.

What Kurumi didn't know was that her smile always gave Yukimura mixed feelings at the pit of his heart. Beauty ran in the Yukimura family, and Kurumi certainly embodied the Yukimura family's beauty.

On one side of his mind, he was – of course, glad that Kurumi was growing into a fine young lady; on the other side, like many other elder brothers out there, he was wary of the wolves who might devour his beautiful younger sister whole.

Yukimura took a silent oath in his mind.

Should his juniors dare lay their hands on Kurumi, they would _never _be easily let off the hook.

**~x~**

Following the graduation of Yukimura Seiichi, the next talk of Rikkai Dai was naturally the first year who was confirmed to be his little sister – Kurumi. While the horrors of grade school (there was a period of time she always walked home carrying a stack of presents – meant for her brother – which was taller than herself on the request of her schoolmates and sometimes even upperclassmen from other schools) weren't repeated because everyone had matured since those times; close scrutiny almost like surveillance was unavoidable wherever she went.

The sparse hushed whispers about her and her brother didn't escape her ears either; and when the results for the first exams were released, they were _the worst_.

"No way, Yukimura-senpai's little sister isn't even in the list of the top 10?"

"I heard from her classmates that she didn't even make it into the top 10 of their class. She didn't top any subject either."

"And I thought that the 'Daughter of God' being poor at tennis was surprising enough… she really isn't anything like her brother huh."

"Hey, if you want to talk behind people' back, at least make sure that you're behind the person's back and not the other way round!" Asaki shouted at the two girls who were gossiping right in front of Kurumi and her as she pat Kurumi's hand comfortingly. After being friends for almost three months, Asaki knew that the difference between her and her brother's aptitudes was Kurumi's greatest sore spot.

The two girls who were caught red-handed flushed red. Not even daring to turn and rebuke, they quickly scurried away.

Rolling her eyes, Asaki said to Kurumi, "Kurumi-chan, don't take their words to heart, 'kay? I know better than anyone – okay, better than most, that you're great too."

And it was true. Kurumi may not be in the top 10 of the school or her class, but she was ranked 14th out of 40 students in class, and 210th overall. In their cohort which consisted of over 700 students, Kurumi's results were really well above average. While Kurumi didn't top any subject, she fared decently well in everything and none of her subjects were even near to a borderline pass. She didn't play tennis, but which rule in Japan's Law says that the family of a famous athlete must be athletic as well? Kurumi was healthy, and Asaki thought that that was enough.

But Asaki didn't know that for Kurumi, it wasn't the same.

For Kurumi who grew up witnessing a miracle, she was far from performing up to standard. Not wanting her friend to worry about her, though, Kurumi smiled and said, "I understand, Asaki-chan. Please don't worry about me."

"I'm glad you think the same as me!" the unsuspecting Asaki grinned and caught sight of the clock hanged in the hallway when she tilted her head, "Darn! It's this time already!? I'm running late for taekwondo practice, catch you tomorrow, Kurumi-chan!" Asaki dashed down the hallway like a torpedo, causing Kurumi to worry that even if Asaki managed to elude the discipline master, she might trip over her foot if she wasn't careful.

Waving to her friend's quickly disappearing figure, Kurumi's smile fell from her face.

Once again… she had failed to meet her own target setting.

**~x~**

Because one of the regulars was unable to make it for practice today, Kirihara sat out while the rest of the regulars were playing matches against each other. He sat down next to Kurumi who was recording the progress in Court A, and through dark green eyes he observed Kurumi intently.

"Yukimura," he suddenly called out experimentally, and like he expected, Kurumi froze for a split second.

"E-eh?" Kurumi turned around and stammered, "Were you calling me, Kirihara-senpai?"

Kirihara had never addressed her by her last name before. In fact, everyone called her by her first name because of the legacy that was her brother.

"Hey, I've noticed for a while now…" Kirihara began carefully, "whenever we mention Yukimura-buchou, you seem to become somewhat stiff. Do you have some sort of misunderstanding regarding your brother?"

In Kirihara's vision, Yukimura-buchou was immaculate. It was simply impossible for him to make any mistake. So if his little sister of all people felt uncomfortable around him or at the mention of his name, it must be due to misunderstandings.

(The little seaweed. He wasn't aware that Yukimura wasn't as perfect as everyone thought he was.)

"No," Kurumi shook her head, confused by Kirihara's sudden inquiry, "Why'd you ask that, Kirihara-senpai?"

"It's just that recently whenever we talk about Yukimura-buchou, you look somewhat down. I thought that it might be because something happened between you two," Kirihara ran a hand through his hair, "if there's nothing, then all is good."

'_Kirihara-senpai is really most observant than what people gave him credit for_,' thought Kurumi. Frequently thought to be the loudest and most obnoxious… person (kid was the original word people used) on the team, most people wouldn't imagine that Kirihara had an acute sixth sense when it came to Kurumi – or rather, matters pertaining to his ex-captain whom he literally worshipped, Yukimura Seiichi.

Kurumi looked at Kirihara, and she recalled that her brother once told her that Kirihara had an elder sister who was three years his senior. Three years was the gap between Yukimura and her too. Back then, she didn't think much about it and took it as a passing remark. But right now, after the results for mid-year examinations were released… she felt an impulse she had had many times before.

Biting her lower lip, Kurumi asked gingerly, "Kirihara-senpai, have you… ever been compared to your sister before?"

"Huh? Of course! She's like a _freaking_ alien – so god damned perfect. Which woman can earn a black belt in taekwondo by age 13, excel in muay-thai and do Kendo like it was second nature to her? As if that wasn't enough, she recently mastered the violin and her grades are always top-notch. Just two weeks ago, she was sent overseas for a three months science research program. Compared to her, my parents call me 'shitty good-for-nothing junk'," Kirihara grumbled, unwittingly revealing the source of his potty mouth.

"Ah?" Kurumi's eyes widened, dumbfounded that there existed parents who'd throw swear words at their own child.

"Between her and me, I'm always the one who gets pummelled to the ground whenever we get into disputes – it hurts my pride, you know; to always be beaten to a pulp by my own sister."

Kirihara's narration put Kurumi's circumstances to shame, and extinguished her desire to seek an understanding ear. She was now sympathetic for Kirihara who had been through much worse. If she was in his shoes, she didn't know how she'd turn out.

"But you know, that woman, she's so awesome too. Ever since I was young, she'd never let a second soul touch me when she was around… her declaration that 'My little brother can only be bullied by me!' was so embarrassing but damn I felt good when she says that. And when I landed myself in troubles with our parents, she'd without fail come to my rescue and save my ass at the nick of time," Kirihara suddenly paused his rambles, "hey, are you asking this because of the rumours that are circulating about? I tell you, don't listen to the shit that other people say. You are you, and your brother is your brother. You are two completely different individuals, you'd be his clone if you were identical to him. Those people are just jealous that they don't have a big brother like yours."

"It's not that…" Kurumi protested, it wasn't their words that stung her; she didn't care about what they said. The only thing that mattered to her was the truth in their words: she was inferior to her brother.

And that was her unspeakable secret. No jealousy, no bitterness, she just suffered from an inferiority complex because she never once lived up to her parents' expectations. She didn't need the recognition of other people, but she needed her parents' recognition. Unfortunately, she never received enough of it from them.

Parents and their expectations of their children could be crushing.

"Ah? Then it must be due to your parents?" Spot on. At (selective) times, Kirihara was perceptive too. Taking Kurumi's silence as acknowledgement, Kirihara thought for a moment, "Okay, I'm not good at counselling people so just ignore me if you feel worse after this. No parents will not love their child. At times you might feel that they are neglecting you – I feel that all the times myself, but look: you have another person doting on you, true? Even though your parents may care for your brother more, but in return, you get the whole-hearted care and devotion of your brother, right? I think that's more than enough to make up for what your parents didn't give to you. They gave a larger portion of their care and concern to your brother, but your brother gave his care and concern to you and only you. Okay, maybe not solely you since he has Tsugi-senpai… But Tsugi-senpai as well, she cares for you, right?"

Kurumi's face turned bright red because Kirihara's speculation of her whole thought process hit the bull-eye. When he analysed her whole situation, Kurumi felt like digging a hole and burying herself for being so terribly narrow-minded before. Kirihara was right; even though her parents loved her brother more, she had her brother's love and Tsugi's love in exchange. And it wasn't even as if her parents disregarded her, in fact… she realized, even though her parents would like her to perform well in school, they never came down hard on her even when she failed to achieve the target.

All along, she had been the one imposing the expectations on herself, and _whining_ because she felt that her parents adored her brother more. She never once looked back and noticed that she had so much more blessing than her self-inflicted suffering.

"_Oi_, are you alright? Look, I'm sorry that I said too much, okay? Don't cry in front of the team!" Kirihara panicked when he saw Kurumi's eyes turning red.

He was utterly helpless against a girl's tears.

"No, no, I'm just… thank you, Kirihara-senpai, thank you," Kurumi stood up and bowed to Kirihara, "really, thank you so much."

If it weren't for him, she'd still be walloping in self-pity – and someday, when she was devoured by these irrational negative thoughts, she'd have morphed into a horrible creature. Kirihara just blinked his eyes, suddenly feeling rather awkward.

At this moment, Shiota who was in Court B called out to Kirihara.

"_Oi_, Kirihara, we are done here! Wanna' have a go?"

"Coming!" relieved, Kirihara yelled back and he grabbed his racquet, "I'll be going over to Court B. You just stay here and observe Chiba and Ryuu."

"Yes, Kirihara-senpai," Kurumi nodded obediently.

Perhaps out of embarrassment, Kirihara fled at the speed of light. Smiling at Kirihara's back view, Kurumi sincerely thought to herself for the first time since she entered Rikkai Dai: Rikkai Dai… wasn't such a bad place after all.

* * *

It's a three-shot, so of course it'd be fast-paced~! Do read and review! :D


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